Find It / Fix It

I think I'm getting to that point of blogging where I can't remember what the heck I've already blogged about and what I have not.

Perhaps I am kidding myself and in reality I have reached that point of LIFE where I can't remember what the heck I've already done and have not.

Either way, I find it very hard to believe that I would not have already blogged about this, but enough readers have emailed me to ask about it that I'm guessing I might not have.  And even if I did already blog about this, it is so flipping fantastic that it is worth mentioning again.

May I get a drumroll please?  

Shine the spotlight.

I present to you:

Find it / Fix it

I listed it in the procedure template I made and it peaked the curiosity of many.  What is it?  It's only the absolute best thing I ever came up with to get my room super duper clean and organized each and every afternoon before dismissal.

It's sort of a game.

But, not really.

If kids think it is a game they will want to play along.  If you simply tell them to clean the room they may not be so interested. 

Here's how it works:

Picture a classroom at the end of a school day.  While it may not be a complete disaster, there are surely things out of place.  I'm talking about things like a pencil on the floor, a pillow that is not straight, papers left on desks, a random crayon in the colored pencil box, a stapler left out of place (usually by me), books that are not facing the same direction, a goldfish cracker lying belly up just waiting to be crushed by a pint-sized Croc, and other nit-picky things.

You pick one of those things and secretly put it into your brain.  Then you tell the kids to "Find it / Fix It."  At that point they scurry around like little elves and perfect the imperfections of the day.  The whole scene lasts about 1-2 minutes.  It doesn't end when the mystery item is found, but rather when the room is perfect.

The rules are simple: No talking, no running, no crawling under tables and no moving something unless you know for sure where it needs to go.  The last one is important because you'll always get some kiddo who shuffles things to look busy.  If a child talks, crawls or runs they are 'disqualified' and must sit down.

After everything is made to look spotless and every last thing is in it's place, I tell them to return to their seats to find out who won.  I have them stand behind their chairs and will give them elimination clues to reveal the "winner."  I say things like, "the winner is wearing shorts" or "the number of letters in the winner's first name is an even number."  As the year goes on I incorporate a lot of math practice by saying "the number of letters in the winner's last name is the sum of 4 + 3" and things like that.  As they are eliminated they sit down until only one friend is left standing.

It wouldn't be any fun without a "prize."  The prize is that the Find it Fix it winner earns a tally (a behavior incentive in my class) and gets to be the "helper of the day" on the following school day.  That simply means they mail the folders and bring any messages I have up to the office.

Want to know a secret?  Come closer and I'll whisper it.

It's usually rigged.  

I try to make it fair so that everyone gets a chance to be the helper.  I will often pick the winner before they start playing and will watch to see what he/she fixes and claim that was the "secret thing."  I then put a little dot next to their name on my roster so I know that the student has had a chance to be the winner.

Either way you play your room will be clean.  Add this to your first week plans and tell others.  I promise you will be glad you did.  It's so nice to have the classroom looking perfect as the kids leave so your prep for the next day is much easier.

Oh, The Supplies!

Tips for Collecting Supplies on the First Day of School

Despite having a slightly unhealthy love affair with shiny new school supplies (just typing those words makes me float off to a happy daydream involving pointy crayons that reek of Crayola newness and unsharpened pencils with perfect little erasers), I despise the chaos that they can evoke on the first day of school.

If you have been teaching awhile you know what I mean.

If you are new to the classroom this year, you will thank me for sparring you the headache.

Here’s how it plays out: A classroom of kids enters wearing their spiffy new duds, modeling their stylish new haircut and sporting their brand-spanking new backpack full of the bounty you enlisted them to acquire via your annual “supply letter.”

They are excited and they can’t wait to force upon you said backpack.  Those who elected not to adhere to the list that specifically said 24 yellow, #2 pencils are especially excited to show off their collection of Mario Kart pencils with (gasp) scented erasers.  

Yeah, I get it.  I’m not so far removed from my own brand-spanking new Trapper Keeper excitement days to have forgotten the glee it brings.  But, as ring master of this circus it is important to have a plan.

A good plan.  A damn good plan.

The first day sets the tone and it is doubtful that you want that tone to be “crazed lunatic who breaks down on day one when the Rosearts, Sharpies and glue sticks start coming out.  So I have a few options for you.

I’ll start with the best one.  Because it is the most efficient and organized way I know.

Start by schmoozing with the teenage bagger at your local grocery store.  If you can’t butter him up then just go straight to the head Honcho and play the teacher card with the store manager.  However you go about it, you need to get a large paper grocery sack for each child in your class.  If you aren’t in the business of begging for free goodies then just answer “paper” to the “paper or plastic” question for the next few weeks and you should be all set when school starts.

Write the children’s names in big, bold letters on the front of the bags and then place them on their desks.

Make a copy of your supply list for each child and staple it to the back of the bag.  Write their name on that as well.

When the students arrive, instruct them to put all of their supplies into the bag on their desk quickly and silently, hang their bag onto their chair and sit quietly.  

Collect the bags and put them out of the way. Go about your first day plans.  Then after the kiddos are on their way home (or if you are lucky enough to have an aide or a student teacher she can do this), sort through the supplies.  Use the checklist on the bag to make sure that everything is accounted for.

If you are going to use community supplies then put them where you want them. 

If you are going to have them be responsible for their own supplies then print out a sheet of labels with each child’s name on it and stick them on.

It is MUCH easier to accomplish the supply-sorting task when the kids are not there.  It is even easier to accomplish this with help.  My suggestion is to recruit a parent or a former student to come in and give you a hand.

When you are done, fold the bags up and store them in a closet.  At some point during the year I guarantee that you will need to send something home in them and they will come in handy.

FRUGAL FRIDAY - FREE STORAGE CONTAINERS

I love me some Target any time of the year.

But, if I'm being honest, I must say that I get an extra rush of adrenaline when their seasonal display is transformed into a mecca of shiny notebooks, perfectly pointy crayons, and markers that are ready to perform in all of their rainbow glory.  

Serious endorphins people!

In addition to the perfection of back-to-schoolness and the bargains galore lies a real treat.

FREE BOXES!!!

Sure you can stroll into most stores 365 days a year and walk away with free boxes, but only now will you find an abundance of colorful, sturdy treasures that are designed to hold classroom items.  Most have minimal markings on them and are ideal for housing notebooks, folders or even your guided reading sets in your classroom.

Be respectful about it. I do my best to impersonate a Target / Walmart worker as I condense stray composition books into one box so that I may become the proud owner of the boxes they were scattered into.

So aside from the obvious, what do you use these little freebies for?  Leave some comment love to let us know your ideas.

In the mean time...I'm off to the beach to celebrate my favorite soon-to-be-Kindergartner turning FIVE!!!

Better Than a Spit Shine

It's ironic that I'm posting cleaning tips today because I really need to be doing actual cleaning and not posting about cleaning.

My son's 5th birthday is on Friday and today kicks off "Birthday Week."

We have the "friends" party on Tuesday.  There's the actual day of birth celebration on Friday.  We'll cap off this year's festivities with the family shindig on Saturday.

I have birthday envy.  Mine is December 21st.  For those of you thinking it would be fun to have your birthday 4 days before Christmas...it's not.  

So I live vicariously through him and now I need to clean for all of our incoming guests.

But, the Swiffer Wet Jet can wait.  Because today I will share with you a cleaning tip that will have your desks sparkling and your students giddy with excitement.

Shaving Cream!

It cleans better than any cleaning product I've tried.

I personally would not spend my time smooshing it around on dirty desks, but little people LOVE to do that.  I'm a big fan of child labor.

Squirt some onto the surface of the desk or table and encourage them to practice their handwriting, spelling words or math facts.  Be creative.  If they swoosh it around enough it disappears.  Then you just spritz the desk with a bit of water and wipe it clean.

Things will shine.

As in: wear your sunglasses indoors, sparkly clean.

I would try to find an unscented variety.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.  We're getting pretty waterlogged around here from all the pool hours we've been logging.

Monday Means Nothing at the Moment

It's Monday morning.

Did you even know that?  Today hubby and I are celebrating our 7th anniversary.  We took a cruise for our honeymoon.  Each morning they would change out the carpet in the elevator on the ship to represent the day of the week.  Because after a couple of days on a cruise ship you have no idea what day of the week it is.

One of the best perks to being a teacher is that for the months of July and August you kind of forget what day it is.  While the rest of the country is cursing out Monday morning, it means nothing to us.  It's just another day at the beach...often literally.

But, all too soon we will be commiserating with those experiencing "just another manic Monday."  Weekday mornings will once again have the potential to be chaotic and crazed.  While the school year may seem like it is way off in the distance, there are some things I can suggest you do now to make your days easier then.  Summer is the perfect time to tackle these.

Summer Vacation To Do List:

Clean out your closet.  Keep only clothes you enjoy wearing that fit you well in there.  This will make getting dressed for work much faster.

Spend some time "freezer cooking."  There are places you can go like Dream Dinners, but it's just as easy to make things on your own.  Plan to have your freezer full of dinners for the first few weeks of school.  Make enough so that you'll have lunches leftover.

Fold a paper in half.  On the left side write out a list of everything you need to do to get out of the house in the morning.  Think not only of yourself, but the other house members as well.  On the right side, brainstorm ways to make things more efficient and streamlined.  For example, I need to pack my son a lunch.  I can make our mornings easier by prepping foods on the weekend (make fruit salad cups, fill bowls with yogurt, put cereal into baggies) and by packing his lunch bag the night before.  Have other family members look at the list and brainstorm ideas.

Scour yard sales, dorm sales and craigslist for a few small appliances for your classroom. Having a fridge, small microwave and a small coffee pot will allow you to get out of the house and into the classroom faster.  By keeping some foods at school, you will save time and money.

Declutter, organize and streamline your home.   By having less stuff at home and knowing where things are you will be able to function efficiently.

What are your tips and ideas for making the mornings easier?  Share them in a comment for others to read.  Have a great week!

Dry Erase Marker Ideas

Today's No Mess Monday Organization Tip is: A Marker Holder

Fourth of July is this weekend.  You would think that would represent the start of summer, but I've learned it really means that all of the Back-to-School items will be out by Monday.  

Sure, you'll find the obvious items you need for your perennial shopping trip.

But, it's also a fabulous time to "think outside the box."

Look at the items and think about how you can use them in your classroom.

Shower caddies for college students make great supply caddies.

Dorm rugs are perfect for the classroom (translation: cheap and funky).

You get the idea.

On of my favorite scores a few years back was this handy little thing here.

It's meant for high school or middle school lockers.  It's magnetic and perfect for sticking to my dry erase board.

To hold my dry erase markers.

Up high.

Where 3rd graders can't reach them.

Because 3rd graders like to draw on whiteboards during indoor recess and use up all the ink.

Also, it keeps things neat and organized.

And you know how I love neat and organized.  Since I'm chatting it up about dry erase markers, now would be a good time to give a shout out to a product I totally heart.  Let's all give it up for Board Dudes Double-Sided Magnetic Dry Erase Markers. 

I bought a set for my son to use at home (me thinks it was at Target or Staples), but they are on my shopping list for school.  Each marker has two colors.  And not just your typical lame dry erase colors like red, blue and black, but fun colors like purple, teal and lime green.  They also erase easily.  I bought some snazzy colorful markers before and needed to really get my scrub on in order to erase them.

If the fun colors and easy erasability were not enough to make these awesome, they are completely magnetic.  As in, stick the marker to the board.  Love them!

But, if you can't find the locker thingy.

And you don't want to buy the snazzy markers that I've plugged.

I have another tip for you.

Hot glue (or Superglue if you dare...personally, I'm afraid of Superglue, but I digress) a strong magnet to the cover of your current dry erase markers.  They'll stick to the board and when it dries out simply get a new marker and swap the cap for the magnetic one.

Happy Monday All!

The Water Bucket - classroom organization tip

Today's No Mess Monday Classroom Organization Tip is "The Water Bucket."

Today's classroom organization tip is "a water bucket."

We do have a fountain in our classroom, but we were told we couldn't let the kids use it when the whole H1N1 fiasco came about.  

You know, cooties and all.

Since all classrooms have cooties and some people don't even have sinks, I thought I would share my "watering hole" with you.

The children are encouraged to bring in water bottles to stay hydrated.  

Water bottles at their seats=toys and distractions.

Water bottles on the counter or shelf=big ole drippy mess on a hot day.

Sure it's a science lesson on condensation, but who wants water puddles everywhere?

My solution was to place a dishpan next to the sink to house their water bottles.  They still use the hand signals to ask to get a drink, but they simply go to the bottle bucket instead of the fountain.

Which here in the northeast is called a "bubbler."

I almost typed "bubbler" but figured most of you would have no clue what I was talking about.

The kiddos write their names or #s on them with sharpie.

I've really souped up the bucket to go with my new theme (coming super soon...like "next week soon")

Hardware Drawers as Classroom Sorters - No Mess Monday

I still have more classroom themes posts coming this week, but wanted to get back onto my weekly posting schedule.  Today's No-Mess Monday Classroom Organization Tip is Hardware Drawers.  You can buy these at Home Depot, your local hardware store, or even Target/Walmart and the like.  They are SO much cheaper than sorters designed for this purpose.  These pictures came from my colleague Lisa's classroom.  I used the same system when I taught k/1.  Since the drawers usually pull out all the way, they are really easy to alter the appearance of.  Just pull out the drawers and spray paint the heck out of the thing in a sassy color.  

I would highly suggest also labeling the inside of the drawee with the contents.  These drawers are great for sorting letter tiles for Making Words activities.  They are also ideal for housing items for a writing center as well as art supplies.  For a really cool and creative look try hot glueing a sample of the drawers contents (googly eye, sequin, pom pom, etc) to the front of the drawer.

classroom organization pictures, classroom organization photos, organizing letter tiles, organizing art supplies

Days of the Week Boxes: No Mess Monday

Today's No Mess Monday Tip is: Days of the Week Boxes

By now you must be feeling my love for magazine sorters.  Seriously.  What can't you use them for?

Anyhow, here they are again.  This time they are being featured as a method to organize your materials for the week.  You'll notice that I have a box dedicated to each day of the week.  As I plan, prep and copy, I add everything to the box that corresponds to the day on which I will use them.

I heart this system for several reasons.

#1 It's pretty.  I looks good.  It's labeled.  It's neat.  What's not to love?

#2 It's flexible.  If I don't get to something on Tuesday then I simply shift it over to Wednesday's box.

#3 It's self-explanatory.  If I am out for an unexpected absence then it makes it very easy to direct a sub to my daily plans and materials.

A few weeks ago I posted about how I organize my reading program materials.  I prep those materials WAY ahead of time (by unit) and store them in their weekly box.  As the time to use them approaches, I take everything out of it's weekly unit box and sort it into the weekday box for the following week.

In the past I have done something very similar with plastic drawers, but find that this works a tad bit better for me because of the size and the ease of flipping through the contents.

An Organized Teacher's Desk = A Happy Teacher

Today's No Mess Monday Topic is: The Teacher Desk

I know that I function best in a clean, organized workspace.

Shocker, huh?

It sounds obvious, but it's easy to let your desk get cluttered.  Taking the time to organize it and to establish methods of maintaining order are well worth it.

I like my desktop to be completely clear.  It gives me room to work when I am planning and it provides a positive model for my students.  To keep it clean I did a few things:

I removed anything that was not a job necessity from the area.  I love my kids and think they are adorable, but I don't keep framed pictures on my desk.  I do have a few tacked to the wall next to my desk (along with some of my son's finer preschool artwork).  I also choose to not store knick-knacks and other cutesy things there.

I took the items that are typically found on a teacher's desktop and relocated them to my top left drawer.  They are still very easy for me to access, but are not cluttering the area.  This includes things like post-its, a stapler, tape, etc.

I like to use small containers within the drawer to keep things organized.  Labeling the baskets is helpful too.  There are some great desk organizer products available, but I prefer to keep everything out of sight.

I use my bottom left drawer to house my extra office supplyish type thingies.

Chances are you will never find yourself in a situation that warrants the immediate use of 3 rolls of tape, 4 boxes of staples and 2.5 bottles of White Out.  I keep all of these items in plastic pencil boxes in the drawer and keep only one of each accessible.

Once your desk is organized, develop routines to make it easy to stay that way.  Get into the habit of always clearing off your desktop at the end of prep, before lunch and before you leave for the day.

Notebook / Journal Storage - No Mess Monday

Today's No Mess Monday Tip for Classroom Organization is:

Storing Notebooks and Journals in Buckets

I use tables in my classroom in place of desks. To store journals and notebooks I use bins. The students are taught to return their items to the bins so that they face the same direction with the spines facing up. When the time comes to use the journals I pick five students and tell them to "Take 5."

This means that those five students go to the bin, form a short little line, each take the five journals that are in front and pass them out to their owners. The process is very quick and by instructing them to take the top five, they do not waste time digging through the stack to get the journal that belongs to a choice buddy.

If a child is absent, the student who is passing out the journal will put it into his/her "unfinished box" so that the assignment can be made up.

There have been years when I have assigned passing out the journals to specific students each time. I have found that it is better to stagger the role. Sometimes there are students who really benefit from the little movement break that is provided by walking around to distribute the books. Also, it is a coveted task so I will sometimes say, "while I am giving the directions (or teaching the lesson) I will be watching for five role model students to 'take 5' when it is time to do the activity.

I should probably note that the term "take 5" is based on me having 25 students. If you had twenty students you may opt to choose five students to "take 4."

Under Bench Storage - No Mess Monday

Today's No Mess Monday Tip for Classroom Organization is:

Under Bench Storage

In many classrooms, storage is limited.  Finding items that are multi-purpose is always helpful.  The photos above show class meeting areas where the student seating doubles as storage for student supplies.  The 1st photo is from a 5th grade classroom.  The teacher turned milkcrates onto their sides and attached wood planks with hardware.  

The 2nd photo is from a 4th grade classroom.  The teacher bought unfinished wood shelves, turned them onto their sides and painted them to match her room.  She used baskets to keep the student's books and papers organized.  The baskets can be moved around the room as needed.  Most big name craft stores (i.e. Michaels and AC Moore) carry these shelves and usually offer a weekly 40% off coupon on their website.  AC Moore also has a teacher card available for a 5% savings.

Thanks to my creative coworkers -Jill and Kara- for letting me photograph their meeting areas and share their creative ideas. 

class meeting areas classroom storage ideas storing student supplies classroom photos

Plastic Drawers - No Mess Monday

Today's No Mess Monday Tip for Classroom Organization is:

PLASTIC DRAWERS

Depending on how much you need to sort, plastic drawers could be the perfect solution.  I currently have my math units sorted / stored this way.  Each skill has it's own drawer.  Inside you'll find hardcopies of all of my resources relating to that skill, games that I've made, related children's literature, and my transparencies for teaching that skill.

I really like this method because the drawers slide out all the way.  I can easily carry the drawer to my desk or a table when planning.

I used to store all of my reading materials this way as well.  However, my district adopted a new reading program a couple of years ago and it came with so much stuff!  Come back next Monday to see how I organize those resources.

Organizing Puzzles: No-Mess Monday

Today's No Mess Monday Tip for Classroom Organization is:

PUZZLE ORGANIZATION

Puzzles are great.

But they take up space and pieces get lost.  These photos are from my son's playroom at home, but I do the same thing at school.

The photo on the left shows just six of his puzzles.  The boxes are bulky and they had already started to lose their shape.  

This solution is easy.  Just cut the picture off the box and place it into a clear plastic bag with all of it's pieces.  

Although the photo doesn't show it, I usually go one step further in the process.  I like to write a number on the back of the picture and then write that same number on the back of all it's pieces.  That way if a stray piece is found it can be returned to it's bag.    By doing this I was able to fit 12 puzzles into a standard plastic shoe box.

Filing System - No Mess Monday

Today's No Mess Monday Tip for Classroom Organization is:

FILING SYSTEM

Just look at all those beautiful little tabs standing at attention.  Oh, how I heart organization.  

I number my students.  It just makes things easier.  It's especially handy in situations like this where I can reuse things year after year without relabeling them with new names.

I have two sets of file folders.  The yellow ones are my student files.  I keep this in my top desk drawer and can easily drop tardy slips, parent notes, and other important pieces of paper that I want to keep on hand into the folder that belongs to the child.  At the end of the year I just empty them out and they are all set for the fall.

The blue folders are for the days of the month.  There are 31 folders and they are labeled, "1st day of the month, 2nd day of the month, etc."  I use it to store papers that I will need on specific days.  It's perfect for conference notes, meeting agendas, lesson plans, etc.

Unfinished Work Boxes - No Mess Monday

Today's No Mess Monday Tip for Classroom Organization is:

UNFINISHED WORK BOXES

Over the years I tried a few different approaches to managing the work that students had not finished.  Many teachers will have children keep a folder of work in progress activities.  The problem with that is that it is "out of site and out of mind."  

A few years ago my husband rescued a paper sorter from his office and brought it to my classroom.  I already had one that I used as a mailbox, but wasn't about to pass up this treasure.  That's when I had a lightbulb moment and my "unfinished work boxes" were born.

Here's how it works:

• Each student is assigned a box which is labeled with his/her number.
  
• If we are working on a whole-class ongoing project, I will collect the student work and hold onto it until the next time we are going to work on it.  However, if the children have not completed work during the allotted time I tell them to "put it into your unfinished box."  
• The students will then slide their assignment into their box until a time arises when they can finish it.  
  

I love this system because it allows me to tell at a glance who is falling behind on classwork.  I can easily see who has work to complete and who has A LOT of work to complete. I can also tell when children are making "may do" choices when they should be doing their unfinished work from the "must do" board.

I find it beneficial to have everything in one place.  My "late finishers" are often my more disorganized students.  In the past, I would need to spend time helping them find their missing assignments before they could finish it.  Now it's all in one central location.  

We empty the boxes at the end of each week.  This may mean that I invite the children to come in before school, stay after school or else I'll send it home to be completed on the weekend.